Wisconsin state Sen. Cullen recovering from surgery

State Sen. Tim Cullen, of Janesville, is recovering from open heart surgery. Gazette photo

MADISON — Wisconsin state Sen. Tim Cullen, of Janesville, is recovering from open heart surgery.

Cullen's office said Tuesday that Cullen had valve replacement surgery on Dec. 5 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The release says Cullen was aware of the problem since April and the surgery was not an emergency.

The 69-year-old Cullen will miss the Senate's vote Thursday on a bill to delay kicking 72,000 people off Medicaid in order to give them more time to sign up for insurance on the private marketplace.

Cullen says he expects to return for the session beginning in January.

Cullen is a Democrat who announced in September that he would not seek another term. He has been in the Senate since 2011 and previously served from 1975 to 1988.